Tokyo ga Suki desu ka?
by Asalie
Summary: Sumeragi Subaru never forgets a person he meets, but will the people he meet forget him?


/b Tokyo ga Suki desu ka?  
  
bChapter One:/b Past  
  
/b Asalie Napua  
  
/b AsalieNapua@netscape.net  
  
/b http://www.kumagoor.net  
  
bAuthor's Notes:/b Uh...this was actually sitting on my hard-drive half-finished for about two, three months now. I've actually moved in the process of trying to motivate myself to finish this baby up. n_n; There's really not much to say except Kuniko made an appearance in the Tokyo Babylon manga, and I'd always wondered what would happen if CLAMP had the duo meet again. Check out my LiveJournal [http://asalienapua.livejournal.com] for doujinshi scans, fanfic updates and my random babbling. Hope you enjoy.  
  
pHashimoto Kuniko's eyes couldn't help but follow the staccato footsteps of the white-trenchcoat cloaked man that passed her. She turned her head, unable, and yet at the same time, able, to believe that this was the boy she used to know. The boy she remembered, even if he didn't remember her.  
  
pHe left a vapor trail of cigarette smoke lingering behind him as his ivory trenchcoat wavered in the crisp, night air. His eyes, those beautiful, happy emerald eyes Kuniko remembered were gone, and all that remained of them was a remorseful coat of regret. As her eyes wandered closer, she realized that, he too, wore a prosthetic eye, and she could not help but wonder what had happened to the boy she knew so long ago.  
  
pHis body, which was once small and feminine had changed so much since she had last seen him. His frame was still as small as ever, but his shoulders were broader, and his hair had been cut.  
  
pBut despite all of these physical changes, she knew this was the man she spent nine years looking for.   
  
pThis was, without a doubt, Sumeragi Subaru.  
  
pThe same Sumeragi Subaru she had first met over nine years ago.  
  
pHashimoto Kuniko glanced at her watch; she had two minutes until her train came, and half an hour until work. But that didn't matter. She'd miss anything in the world to see him again.  
  
pIt had taken Kuniko a long time to recover from her injuries, and most of all, to recover her shattered ego. But once she was able to regain her former self, she decided to look for him, and return the handkerchief he had loaned to her so long ago. She pulled the worn, cotton square from her raincoat pocket. No matter how many times she cleaned it, no matter how many times she recursed she wouldn't use it again, Kuniko always found herself in a predicament where she needed it. She knew that if this Subaru were anything like the one she remembered, he wouldn't mind her keeping it.  
  
pShe gazed down adoringly at the the handkerchief and smiled. This was her only excuse to keep looking for him. Her only true reason for seeing him again.   
  
pKuniko quickly shoved the handkerchief into the pocket of her leather jacket as she looked at him once more; his silhouette was slowly fading away. If any time, it had to be now.  
  
p"Subaru-kun!" she cried out, chasing after him like some prebuscent junior high girl. How embarrassing! Kuniko never enjoyed attention from others, and even now, as people stared at her, she couldn't help but blush. Just a bit.  
  
pHe turned around, gazing blankly back at the girl, showing no hint of emotion. For a minute, Kuniko thought that he had forgotten her. That was, until he spoke her name.  
  
p"Hashimoto Kuniko, is it?"   
  
pKuniko stopped dead in her tracks. How could he...after all these years, remember HER? She wasn't anyone important or significant. She had never done anything that was worth remembering. But then WHY? Why did he remember her, out of everyone else in the world?  
  
p"H-hai," she stuttered. "Sumeragi Subaru, right?" She knew it was him, but nevertheless, confirmation from him would reassure her more.  
  
p"Hai." Subaru's voice stung her heart; he was so different from what she remembered. He wasn't anything like the Subaru she held deeply in her memories.  
  
p"H..how are you doing?" She slipped her hands into the pockets of her worn, yellow rainjacket; her right hand clutched the handkerchief, a reminder of her original intentions. "It...it's been a long time..." Why was she so damn nervous? It was just Subaru-kun...right?  
  
p"I'm doing fine." Despite the lack of emotion in his voice, Kuniko could see in her eyes that it was far from that. "Yes, it has been," he continued, referring to the nine-year gap between now and then. "And you?"  
  
p"I-I've been fine. I was actually about to head to work," Kuniko admitted, scratching the back of her head abashly. "There was something..." Kuniko's words grew increasingly louder, as she echoed her last word, "...something I've got to return to you."  
  
pFingers digging into the handkerchief, she finally found the strength to do what she couldn't do nine years ago. With a sudden jerk of her arm, she presented the ragged remains of the handkerchief he had loaned to her so long ago.  
  
pKuniko didn't want to see his expression; this was so embarrassing, to return something so menial borrowed for so long. She was sure that Subaru had forgotten it after so many years; handkerchiefs were inexpensive and easy-to-come by. It certainly wasn't anything worth returning.  
  
pShe felt his hand brisk against her own as he appreciatively took the worn square of fabric. "Thank you," he said simply. Cautiously, Kuniko slowly opened her good eye to find an almost-smiling Subaru before her. While his face didn't smile completely, his eyes certainly did. Kuniko immediately felt better about the situation, and smiled meekly.   
  
p"I'm sorry for borrowing it for so long. I mean, I-I, I tried looking for you," she said, fumbling for an excuse. For a moment, she felt as though she was still sixteen; boys were never her forte, and despite this only being Subaru, she felt out-of-place. She shifted her weight clumbsily, allowing the sound of movement to fill the awkward silence.  
  
p"I...I should go." If Subaru had something to say, he would have said it then. There was nothing he wanted to talk about with someone like her; after all, she was just a girl he knew so long ago. She wasn't anyone important, anyone worth talking to, anyone worth loving.  
  
pBefore another word could be said, another train pulled up; it didn't lead to Kuniko's destination, but she didn't care. She just had to go anywhere that wasn't here. She slipped onto the train with another word exchanged between the duo.  
  
pSubaru's eyes followed the train as it zoomed past him, his eyes reflecting the image of the dispirited girl, gazing ruefully out of the train window, eyes staring in quite contemplation at nothing in particular.  
  
p"You can come out now," Subaru said, his voice drowning in irritation.   
  
p"Hmph." A familiar silhouette stepped out from the shadows and into the light, revealing the familiar face of Sakurazuka Seishirou. "You've always been so kind, Subaru-kun," he said quietly, slowly padding his way towards the younger onmyouji. "Being so cruel to a girl to allow her the chance to escape the battle." Seishirou smiled smugly. "But do you really have that little faith in yourself, Sumeragi Subaru? She'd only need to be out of harm's way if I broke you." Seishirou spoke of Subaru as if he were a doll.  
  
p"Don't patronize me," Subaru retorted, frowning.  
  
pSubaru's words only caused a larger smile to form upon the Sakurazukamori's face. "You're so cute, Subaru-kun." He was now at arm's distance now, and there was no wasting time. With a sudden thrust, Subaru sent his arm into the air, and the familiar green pentacle kekkai swallowed the two men.  
  
p"On abokya beiroshanam!"  
  
pAs soon as the kekkai fully-formed, the two voices began chanting, channeling their energy into powerful onmyouji chants.  
  
p"On bazalagini harajihattayasowaka. On makayakisha bazalasataba, jakuunban kohalabeishaun!" Subaru's voice started off low, but eventually escalated to a higher volume.  
  
p"On asanmagini unhatta. On asanmagini unhatta!" Seishirou's voice was loud and clear, with no sign of hesitation or faultering. Quite unlike Subaru's chanting.  
  
pOfuda flew through the night air as the two men chanted; the onmyoujitsu magic carved new wounds into pale flesh; Subaru's eyes met with Seishirou's for only a split second-- and in that one second, he didn't see apprehension, which coated his own eyes, but determination-- PURE determination.  
  
pSeishirou was finally going to kill him.  
  
pIt wasn't that he minded, this WAS his wish, was it not? This is what he wanted, what he had spent the last nine years of his life searching for, right?  
  
pBut just as Subaru's breaths became heavy and forced, he pulled back; unable to stabalize both the kekkai and his own life force, his body reflexively forced the kekkai down. With a sadistic smile that could only belong to the Sakurazukamori, Seishirou smiled down at Subaru, pressing his calloused hand against the soft, pale cheek of Sumeragi Subaru.  
  
pSubaru gazed up at Seishirou, his eyebrows furrowed in a mixture of anger and confusion; why didn't he finish him off? Why was it always like this?  
  
p"See you soon~!"  
  
pSakura petals flooded the vicinity; confused pedestrians stared up at the sakura petals that rained down. Whispers of bewilderment filled the subway floors, where usually only the clattering of footsteps was heard.  
  
pSubaru stumbled to his feet, trying to stay with the crowd, trying to meld with the people around him. He tried to become a part of the group that devoured him. Sticking his hands into the pockets of his white trenchcoat stained with the subway dust and blood, Subaru walked away. 


End file.
